Marketing's Fiona Ramsay asked me for some thoughts on YouTube's Promoted Videos, the ad programme that combines Google AdWords with YouTube videos, allowing advertisers to create keyword-targeted campaign. Extending Promoted Videos to AdSense sites broadens the reach, while providing another way to earn from ad inventory. The article which includes a quote from me is here, and here are a few more thoughts:

Anything that creates more targeted opportunities for advertisers that delivers more relevant messages to consumers as a result is a good thing. One of the critical success factors will be how relevant the content is to the viewer. To achieve that, advertisers should be very prudent when bidding on keywords. It sounds obvious, but people will only click on related content if it is truly related, and on YouTube this is especially true given the number of choices people have.

This move will make it easier and more straight-forward for advertisers to generate revenue from their video content and gain control over how they use YouTube as a marketing platform. It will also cut out the “snake-oil” side of the content seeding business on YouTube, which both agencies and brands will welcome with open arms.

YouTube is bending over backward to accommodate content creators, and it just landed one it probably should have had a long time ago: Will Ferrell's Funnyordie.com.

That's not only funny, but it is a clear sign that the modifications of the advertising model YouTube is implementing has a strong possibility of succeeding with content creators. And where there is good content, advertisers are sure to follow.